World experts gather to oversee education reforms

Bank CEO is one of a 10-strong group of experts to advise on changes to Scottish education

The CEO of a UK-based bank has today been named as one of the 10-strong group of experts invited by the Scottish government to “challenge and and scrutinise” its plans for education.

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the chief executive of Virgin Money, was appointed to the Scottish government’s International Council of Education Advisers because business had “a role to play” in shaping Scottish education, a Scottish government spokeswoman said.

It was vital that the government had “the widest possible pool of expertise available”, she added.

The Scottish government took the decision to appoint a council of advisers at the first meeting of the new Cabinet in May.

The other council members, also revealed for the first time today, have extensive experience advising educators and governments on education leadership, school improvement and reform. They come from as far a field as the US, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Malaysia, Singapore and the UK (see below).

The group’s remit is to advise on the Scottish government’s priorities for education and ensure the actions set out in the new education delivery plan are influenced by international best practice.

John Swinney, the deputy first minister and education secretary, is also in the process of appointing a 20-strong panel of teachers who will be charged with helping to reduce teacher workload.

Both panels will meet twice a year, with the first meetings taking place next month.

Global expertise

Here is a full list of the members of the International Council of Education Advisers:

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, chief executive of Virgin Money

Dr Carol Campbell, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada

Professor Chris Chapman, The Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change, University of Glasgow

Professor Graham Donaldson, The Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change, University of Glasgow

This is an edited version of an article in the 15 July edition of TESS. Subscribers can view the full story here. To subscribe, click here. To download the digital edition, Android users can click here and iOS users can click here. You can also download the TES Reader app for Android or iOS. TESS magazine is available at all good newsagents.